CrowdStar Releasing Entire Social Games Catalog In Japan

Social games developer CrowdStar announced an expansion of its partnership with Tokyo-based web services company Drecom to release all of its titles in the Japanese market. CrowdStar, which is headquartered in San Francisco, says it was one of the first major social gaming companies to bring its games to Japan, having previously worked with Drecom to release its most popular titles, Happy Aquarium and Happy Island, on local leading web/mobile social networks Mixi, Gree, and Hangame last December. The social game developer believes this agreement with Drecom accelerates its global strategy, allowing it to quickly tailor game content for Japanese preferences, test new game mechanics, and take advantage of partner marketing capabilities in the local mobile and online gaming market. Its Facebook apps/games not yet released in Japan include Quiz Planet, Happy Pets, Zoo Paradise, Hello City, and almost ten other titles. CrowdStar's catalog on the social network brings in a total of more than 52 million monthly active users, according to figures from AppData. CrowdStar isn't the only major social games studio with its sights on Japan; FarmVille company Zynga also recently acquired Tokyo-based developer Unoh and established a Zynga Japan joint venture with Softbank -- the same Japanese telecommunications/media corporation that invested some $150 million in Zynga two months ago. "CrowdStar is thrilled to expand its relationship with Drecom to bring CrowdStar's games to even more players in Japan," says CrowdStar's CEO Niren Hiro. "Since entering the Japanese market in 2009, CrowdStar has been a pioneer in social gaming in Japan, bringing two of its titles to multiple networks. Working with Drecom allows us to launch more games faster."